Between Dreams or Family: Amelia's Story
by Welsh Gem
Summary: Amelia Smollet has her future already chosen for her: To be a lady, get married to the man of her parent's choice and to have children, be silent and not speak unless spoken to. However, Amelia doesn't want the domestic life. She wants adventure. As she tries to reach her dreams without offending her family, she comes to realise she can only have one and has to choose between them.
1. Amelia's Mistake

"Race you to the tree!" Edgar Bishop challenged as he shot off towards the large oak tree that sat at the crest of a low hill. Jonathan Smollet chased after him in pursuit to beat his neighbour to the tree. "If you're too slow, Jonathan, you can't come into our tree house!"

His younger sister, Amelia, watched on in complete envy. She turned to her mother and tugged at her dress. "Momma, can I go play with Jonathan?" She asked. Her mother's emerald eyes dropped to her daughter. Mrs Bishop, a plump lady who lived in the estate next to the Smollet's own estate, chuckled to herself.

Amelia's mother, Madeline, smiled weakly before turning to her daughter. "No, Amelia. You must stay with me and the ladies." She told. Amelia frowned.

"But I want to go race with the boys!" She claimed. "Please, Momma, please?"

Mrs Bishop's laugh grew louder. "She's an adventurous little one, isn't she?"

Madeline grinned. "Yes, she plays with her brother more than her sister. He's rubbed off on her." She sighed. "I've been trying to get her into more lady-like things but no, she still wants to romp with her brother!"

The few ladies laughed among themselves while Amelia impatiently waited. Finally her mother turned to her. "No love, you can't. Why don't you go play tea parties with the girls?"

Amelia's frowned sustained. "No, tea parties are boring! I want to go race!"

Defeated, Madeline sighed and patted her daughter's arm. "Fine, go play with the boys but don't dirty your dress!"

Amelia's eyes lit up and she gave her mother a quick hug before turning and running towards the large oak tree. She resisted the temptation to hitch up her skirt; her father had told her to stop doing it. No one argues with father. With her hair flowing in the wind, Amelia finally reached the tree. She stared up into the thick branches, where a wooden platform was built. Up there, she could hear the voices of her brother and the sons of the neighbours: Edgar Bishop, Daniel Reading, Timothy Baldwelding and Harry Kings. Amelia heard them laugh, tell a joke and listened to their footsteps against the rough wood.

"Oi!" She cried. The voices stopped. Five heads peered over the side of the platform. "Can I join?" Amelia asked. The boys laughed.

"You?" Sneered Edgar Bishop. "But you're a girl!"

Amelia frowned, glared at him and crossed her arms. "So?" She snapped back.

"So that means you can't play with us!" Daniel Reading replied. "Girls can't play with boys. Why don't you go play with your dolls instead?"

The boys all snickered among themselves. Jonathan glanced at his visibly upset sister and sympathised. "Come on," He spoke softly to his friends. "Just let her up. She'll probably change her mind in a few minutes."

Timothy Baldwelding snorted. "But no girls are allowed in our tree house!"

Amelia frowned in confusion. "That's a tree house?" She questioned. The boys again laughed among themselves.

"Of course!" Harry King spat. "What did you think it was, stupid? A tree pony?"

"No, it's just that it's not a house. It's more like a platform. Houses have walls and roofs and windows and doors. That's basically a big square made of wood stuck in a tree. It's not a house so it can't be a tree house!" Amelia explained. The boys looked at each other.

"So what?" Edgar Bishop cried. "It's what we call it and we call it a tree house! A tree house that only us _boys_ can go in!"

Amelia frowned, thinking. "You said that if Jonathan was too slow, he wouldn't be able to go in the tree house. If I beat you in a race, then can I come into the tree house?"

The boys all gathered to themselves, whispering. "She's not fast, she's a girl…Edgar can beat her easily…no harm…too slow…girl…tree house…." They all nodded in unison and turn to Amelia.

"Alright girl," Spoke Edgar Bishop. "If you can beat me, the fastest boy alive, then you can come into the tree house."

Amelia eyed him suspiciously. "You promise?" She said cautiously. Edgar put a hand on his heart and promised. Amelia's face lit up. "Okay then, let's race!"

The boys let down a ladder and climbed down one by one. They all lined up by the tree and discussed the route. "Okay, down to the gazebo and back? Should we leave a shoe down there so she doesn't cheat?" They chattered.

With smirks on their faces, the boys all turned to Amelia. Harry Kings made a starting line for Amelia and Edgar Bishop to stand by while Timothy Baldwelding and Daniel Reading hurried down to the distant gazebo and back again, while Daniel stayed down there. When Timothy returned, one shoe was missing.

"The first person to return to the tree after touching the gazebo is the winner. Amelia, you must get the Tim's shoe; it's in the gazebo. If you win, you can come up to the tree house with us. If Edgar wins, you must go away and leave us all alone forever." Jonathan explained. "There will be no cheating, just running there and back."

Amelia stood at the starting line and knelt forward, ready to sprint off. Edgar Bishop stood next to her in a similar position, his brown eyes twinkling mischievously. Jonathan dropped the handkerchief and the two sped off.

Edgar Bishop ran ahead while Amelia struggled not to trip over her skirt. "Blasted…skirt!" She cursed. Ignoring her father's warning, Amelia grabbed the hem of her skirt, kicked off her tight shoes and raced forward. The lace tickled the back of her legs but Amelia kept running, all the way down until she was neck-and-neck with Edgar Bishop. He glanced at Amelia then sped up but Amelia slowly took over him. Eyes wide with panic, he sped up but Amelia kicked up her pace and reached the gazebo. Grabbing the leather shoe, she leapt over the fencing and ran around the gazebo. Edgar Bishop, who was two metres away from the gazebo, quickly turned and sped forward. Amelia picked up her pace but by the time they returned to the tree, Amelia was just slightly behind.

Punching the air, Edgar Bishop cheered. "I won!" He whooped, despite being out of breath with rosy cheeks.

Amelia frowned and waved the shoe in the air. "No,_ I_ won. I got the shoe!" She retorted triumphantly.

"Ah, but the object of the race wasn't to get the shoe, it was to get back first. The shoe was just to see if you were cheating or not. _I_ won." Edgar snapped and grinned evilly. Amelia frowned.

"No, I won. You said I had to get the shoe."

"You did get the shoe but the object of the game was the first person to get back. I didn't have to get the shoe, but you did!" Edgar sneered.

"That's not fair! You didn't even touch the gazebo!" Amelia cried. "By the time I got around it, you hadn't reached it yet. As soon as you saw me, you turned around and ran back!"

"No, he did touch the gazebo," Lied Daniel Reading as he jogged towards the group. "I was down there to check he did."

"You're lying!" Amelia claimed. "You don't want me to win! I won because _he_ cheated!" Amelia pointed a sharp finger at Edgar.

Edgar shrugged. "So what? You're still not coming into the tree house!" He jeered.

**Feeling on the verge of tears, Amelia turned to her brother. "Jonathan, you must believe me!" She cried.**

"Who's he going to believe?" Edgar snickered. "His cry baby of a sister or his best friend?"

Both of them turned to Jonathan. Torn, Jonathan glanced at them both. Edgar gave him a threatening look. Jonathan gazed at the ground. In a small voice, he spoke: "Edgar."

"See!" Edgar spoke triumphantly. "He believes me! I won fair and square because_ I_ touched the gazebo!"

Amelia glared at him. Seeing red, she held out her hands and planted them at Edgar's chest. "You lying scum!" She yelled as she shoved Edgar Bishop. The blonde boy flew backwards and he grabbed Amelia's skirt in an attempt to pull himself away from the ground. However, Amelia's skirt tore, leaving a large tear in the blue fabric. Edgar hit the ground hard, dirt covering his white shirt.

"Amelia Katherine Smollet!" Called Madeline as she and the other mothers hurried over. "How dare you shove that poor boy!"

Amelia pointed at Edgar. "He's a liar, Momma! He cheated and he lied!" She screamed loudly, trying her best not to cry.

"Amelia, ladies do not raise their voices." Madeline warned as she gripped her daughters arm and pulled her away. "And ladies do not turn to violence."

In the anger of the moment, the rage in Amelia's heart, she cried out angrily_: "I don't want to be a lady!" _

The mothers gasped and gazed at Amelia, bewildered. Madeline's eyes went wide with disbelief and panic, her grasp on her daughter suddenly becoming limp. There was a pregnant pause; the silence was deafening.

Instantly, Amelia knew she had done something very, _very_ wrong.

**HEY YOU GUYS! Hiya, welcome to my new fanfic! Sorry if the beguinning is a bit boring, slow, etc. but we're going to have a look into Amelia's past before Treasure Planet :) We'll meet her father and younger sister in the next chapter and Arrow sill pop up somewhere, probably in the next chapter too. My Microsoft trail is going to run out on the 2nd of August but I'm off on holidays on Saturday so updates are going to be slow. Hopefully, I can use docs on my doc manager to update (fingerscrossed) but there may be spelling errors and punctuation errors too :( Hope you enjoy!**


	2. Of Punishment and Dreams

The smell of smoke had always annoyed Amelia. It was sour and disgusting and made her nose itch. It lingured around the house; where ever her father had gone with his pipe it had followed him and made itself at home on the furniture and wallpaper. The strong scent reminded Amelia of her father. He loved his pipe and cigars almost as much as he loved his family so it came with him everywhere, but the smell also made Amelia remember the times she was forced by her mother to enter his office for punishment.

Amelia had always thought her home was cosy. The plush seating and the mahogany furniture gave her a sense of safety, the soft lighting from the over head chandeliers and the wall candles made it feel comfortable. The maids made sure everything was clean and polished, which delighted Amelia. One of the things she hated was mess. The house was large and open, making it seem cold at times but there were at least two roaring fires in each room to chase away any chills that glided through the hallways. The only room Amelia hated was her father's office.

It was the room that stunk of smoke and his rich cigars, the furniture was mostly fashioned to represent cats: cats patterned on the lamps, cats paws at the feet of the table, cats framing the reflective mirror, cats' snarling faces at the arms of the chairs. It was mostly made of silver and was cold at the touch; there was very little lighting in the office as the malachite curtains were always drawn to block out the warm sunlight. The fireplace was very rarely lit and if it was, only a few embers would blaze with the blocks of chopped wood. Her father's papers would be scattered across his desk and dust would gather on the worn covers of his books because he had told the maids to keep away from his office in fear they would somehow destroy his work. It was everything Amelia hated all rolled into one room apart from the very person who resided there.

Despite Amelia's every growing dislike to the room, she did however love the man who hardly ever left it. Fredrick Smollet was a stern and stubborn man, who thought once something was what he thought then it could be no other way, even when it was something differnt. He liked things to go his own way and other people's opinions were insignificant when compared to his own. Once he saw the beautiful face of Madeline Ambers he quickly asked the girl's father for her hand in marriage. They were wed a mere six months after they first met and a son born to them two years on, a daughter a few years later and another daughter after a few years more. He loved them, cared for them and wanted the very best for them. However, if they didn't want it they would still get it. Amelia had wished for a toy swords and a Captain's hat for her eighth birthday but instead she recieved an itchy, crushed rose-pink dress lined with lace and cotton. As heartbroken as she was, Fredrick still claimed it is what she wanted. After all, she was going to be a lady, not a Captain.

The smell of the cigar smoke make Amelia's nose twitch. She resisted the urge to scratch it and kept her arms clamped to her sides as her she stood before her father's disarranged desk while he glared at her. With his fingers laced together and elbows leaning on the silver top of his desk, Fredrick Smollet scanned his tiny framed daughter with his dark eyes. Her red haired braid was starting to come loose; strands of her firey locks were falling infront of her emerald eyes. The soles of her black shoes were caked in mud and there was a large tear in her beautiful azure dress. She stared back at him with fear and anxiety in her innocent eyes.

"So, you pushed over this Bishop boy?" His gruff voice asked.

"Yes father." Amelia replied in a tiny voice.

"And you started raising your voice."

"Yes father."

"And you claimed that you didn't want to be a lady?"

"But father-"

"SILENCE!" He yelled. Amelia visibly winced and adverted her eyes to stare at the creaky floor. "Amelia, I don't think you understand how serious this is. You're a girl, child. First off, you shouldn't have been running around, playing with boys in the first place! But your soft mother let you. From now on you don't play with your brother or any boy. You shall only play with your sister and the neighbouring girls, doing lady-like things- _don't interupt me girl!"_

Amelia had opened her mouth to say something but after her father's outburst, she slammed it shut.

"Next you shall go and apologise to the Bishops for using violence against their son. After that, you will start acting like a lady. Image is everything Amelia. Do I want to go to the Navy to find out that they've been talking about my _tomboyish _daughter behind my back? I will be embarrassed and so far, you are an embarrassment to your whole family. I'm extremely disapointed in you, Amelia. You're a bad example to your sister. You're eight years old, nearly nine; it's about time you grew up and started behaving like a woman, not a silly child."

His daughter said nothing; Fredrick carried on. "The Ladies Party shall commence in late August. You shall go with your mother and sit down with the other ladies of the estates and show them that you are a lady and you will be a lady and that you _want_ to be a lady. You will sit properly, eat and drink properly, talk properly and say you like proper things. I don't want any 'I like running and playing in the mud'; I want to hear about sewing and reading and drinking tea! Do you hear me, child?"

"Yes father." Amelia muttered. Even with the low lighting in the room, Fredrick could see the tears forging in Amelia's eyes. With a heavy sigh, he got up from his desk, walked over to his daughter and kneeled down to her height. He raised her chin and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I just want the best for you sweetheart. In a few years, you'll be old enough to be a proper lady and go and get married and have your own family. But if you don't start learning now, you're going to struggle. I don't want you to struggle. I want you to go through it with ease and grace like your mother did."

"Yes father." parroted Amelia once more. The father and daughter shared an embrace before Amelia was shooed out of her father's office with a heavy heart.

The young girl wandered the corridors with her mind racing. She was no longer allowed to play spacers and captains with her brother, she couldn't run or do cartwheels any more. She had to learn how to sew and start reading those dull looking books her mother reads in the early evenings. Her father said she would have to get married and have babies (even though she didn't know _how_ to make babies) and then leave home and live like her mother. Amelia had always hoped that she wouldn't end up like her mother. She watched her mother run through a day to day routine, sitting down and watching her life pass by. It looked dull and meaningless, as if she was only in the world to watch over the next generation. Another one of Amelia's problems was that she didn't want children. She could still remember the fresh days when her little sister would wake them all up in the middle of the night with her crying and how she would smell when she soiled her nappies. Her mother had even showed her how to change one and Amelia had no interest in_ that. _

A loud knock made Amelia jump from her thoughts. From her current place in the front sitting room, she hurried down to the enterance hall to see the headmaid, Lucy, hurry to the door to open it and answer the call.

"Good afternoon Mrs Hatterbag." Came a deep but soothing voice. Amelia's heart leapt.

"Oh, good afternoon Mr Arrow! I suspect you're here for the master?"

"That is correct Mrs Hatterbag." Arrow replied.

"Do come inside." Lucy insisted as she ushered the Cragorian through the door. "Make yourself comfortable in the sitting room while I go fetch the master." And with that, Lucy hurried away to collect Amelia's father.

Samuel Arrow was one of the greatest men Amelia had ever met. He was extremely old but still claimed to be young and had been friends with the family ever since Amelia's great grandfather had met him in the navy. He served as First mate to Amelia's great grandfather, then to Amelia's grandfather and now to her own father as they all reached the Captain rank in the Royal Navy. Arrow was tall and execeptionally strong, even by Cragorian standards. Altough he was tougher and stronger than the rest of his race, he didn't inherit their rough ways or fearsome behaviour. He was kind and gentle and acting as the Smollet children's surrogate great grandfather. With this role, Amelia could remember watching him dress up and suffer through some of Amelia's sister's tea parties with her stuffed animals.

"Hello Arry!" Amelia greeted cheerfully.

With a kind smile, Arrow tipped his hat. "Ms Amelia, how are you today?"

"Okay, I guess." Amelia replied hesitantly.

"Is something wrong?" Arrow questioned with geniune concern.

Amelia shuffled on her feet. "Father says I have to be a lady now. I can't play with Johnathan anymore." Amelia repeated most of the conversation to the over towering Cragorian.

Arrow frowned. "I'm sure your father doesn't mean it in that way. He just wants the best for you, Ms Amelia. He doesn't mean to hurt you or upset you-"

"I know but I just want to play spacers and pirates. he was disapointed in me..." Amelia replies. She pulls a jolly face and smiles up at Arrow. "So, where've ya been, Arry?"

"Been down to Panemium 12, through the Diablo Nebula. Beautiful from a far but crawling with pirates!" Arrow answered. Amelia's eyes glittered.

"Pirates?"

"Oh yes, loads and loads of cut-throats and buccaneers trying to steal the gold of every passing ship. We had to sail right through to save a ship that had strayed off course."

"Was it fun?"

"Fun? Frightening and extremely dangerous but admittedly adventurous. Spacing is a very adventurous indeed, espiecially when you're in the navy. You get to travel the Etherium, fight pirates, protect the galaxy and visit loads of places, get to see amazing space creatures and see various cultures. The sights are very beautiful: nebulars and stars and planets but very dangerous, there's loads of storms and supernovas and black holes. You have to be very careful and very skilled to space alone."

"So you get to go around the Etherium on all of these adventures?"

"Well, some adventures. Sometimes you just go on little missions that can be rather boring and dull and then there's war, which is extremely horrible. You tend to lose many friends through spacing, Ms Amelia." Arrow replied.

"I hope you're not feeding my daughter all of these stories, Samuel?" Fredrick Smollet grinned as he entered the room. The two men tipped saluted each other and grinned friendily. "She's been in enough trouble already."

"I've heard." Arrow chuckled. "I hope you're not too tough on her, Fredrick."

Fredrick sighed. "I try not to. So, what has so woefully happened that has sent you running to me?" He mockingly asked.

Before Arrow could reply, Fredrick told Amelia to go and leave the men to discuss business. Amelia turned on her heel and marched from the room, her heart thumping in her ribcage. The sound of spacing and of travelling the Etherium was so exciting that she instantly knew that she wanted to do the exact same when she was older.

**HEEYY YOU GUUYS! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, introducing Amelia's father and bringing up Arrow. Now, first off Mr Smollet isn't a nasty guy. He's...well, more of a nice guy who does the wrong things. A bit like Silver: Silver's a nice bloke but does pirating yada yada yada. Mr Smollet does love Amelia but just wants her to fit in and be like other normal girls her age (tea parties, etc). More in the next chapter but I think it's gonna take a while sorry :( I'll update as soon as I can! Don't forget to review! **


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